Today is Sergio Perez’s 33rd birthday, Sergio was born on this day in 1990. Born to parent’s Antonio Perez Garibay and Marilu Mendoza de Perez in Guadalajara, Mexico. 

Who Is Sergio Perez?

Sergio Michel Perez Mendoza is one of the current drivers for Redbull Racing, the now 33 year old hails for Mexico, he is the youngest of three children, Antonio and Paola are his older brother and sister respectively. 

He is married to Carola Martinez and has three Children. 

In 2012, he set up a charity, the Checo Perez Foundation, the aim of the charity is to help strengthen vulnerable groups, specifically children and his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico.  

To be the leading altruistic Foundation in Mexico capable of establishing inter-institutional relationships for the management of projects and support programs that provide opportunities to minors so that they can realize their dreams and have a better future.

Checo Perez Foundation

Along with helping children, the foundation has also assisted their local community with relief after recent natural disasters. 

Early Racing Career

Sergio started racing at aged 6 driving karts. In 2004, with support from Mexican businessman Carlos Slim and his Escuderia Telmex business, he began racing stateside in the Skip Barber Series. 

From 2004 to 2010 Sergio would compete in A1 GP, British Formula 3 International Series, GP2 Asia Series and GP2, he would claim the 2007 British Formula 3 Series title in that time. 

Formula 1 Career 

Sergio Perez would make his Formula 1 debut in 2011, driving for Saubar, he would turn in some impressive performances, notably the 2012 Malaysian GP, where he would finish on the podium. 

His impressive speed and young age caught the eye of McLaren, who signed him for the 2013 season, replacing Lewis Hamilton, who had left to join Mercedes, however this was not a happy relationship, the team failed to finish on the podium all season with Perez’s best finish being fifth at the Indian GP. 

Sergio was a casualty of Mclaren’s 2013 season, being replaced by Kevin Magnussen for 2014. This prompted Perez to sign for Force India, where he would remain for several seasons, rebuilding his reputation after his less than stellar year at McLaren. 

The Force India Years

After Leaving McLaren, Sergio would sign with Force India, he would remain with the team from 2014 to 2018. 

The first season with Force India saw him land on the podium at the Bahrain GP, the first podium for the team. Over the course of the season Sergio would finish in the points several times, this would earn the Mexican a new 2 year deal through to the 2016 season. 

The 2016 season saw further improvement with a ninth place finish, the highest of his career to date. He would out score his team mate, Nico Hulkenburg by 20 points. 

The 2017 season saw Checo battle mostly with his teammate, Esteban Ocon, the battle would become quite intense, with contact between both drivers at the Azerbaijan GP, when both drivers were in contention for the win, Sergio ignoring team orders at the Canadian GP or the contact between the pair at the Belguim GP.

Sergio would finish the 2017 season ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon with 100 points. 

The 2018 season would be the beginning of the end of Force India, when they were placed into Administration after the Hungarian GP, Perez, who was one of the teams biggest creditors, was part of the group that forced the team to seek administration, this would lead to Sergio receiving negative comments from social media. It transpired that the team had asked Perez to seek administration, to protect against a winding up order that could have been the end of the team leading to the loss of hundreds of jobs. 

Sergio would score his eighth podium at the Azerbaijan GP, when he finished third. He would be the only driver that didn’t race for Ferrari, Redbull or Mercedes to finish on the podium in 2018.  He would finish the season eighth in the standings with 62 points and ahead of Esteban Ocon. 

Racing Point

Force India was renamed Racing Point after a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll bought the Force India team, they would retain Sergio and the driver line up adding Lance Stroll from Williams. 

The 2019 season would begin strong for the Mexican, with several strong performances, which included a 6th place finish at the Azerbaijan GP, however this would not last, Perez would suffer an eight race pointless streak during the season, the longest in his career to date. 

The second part of the season would fair much better for Sergio with points finish in every race after the summer break, with the exception of the Singapore GP, where he would retire due to an oil leak. 

He would finish tenth with 52 points and comfortably ahead of his teammate, Stroll. 

The 2020 season would be Sergio’s last season with Racing point after he was replaced by Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 season, the team’s first as Aston Martin. 

COVID STRIKES

Due to Covid the 2020 season would consist of just seventeen rounds, contained in Europe. On three separate weekends two races were held back to back at the same venue, these were Red Bull Ring, Siverstone and Bahrain. 

Sergio missed the Siverstone double header due to testing positive for Covid. The season would be up and down for Sergio, with Racing Point’s decision to replace him for the 2021 season and his positive Covid test, leading to him missing the Silverstone double header. 

SERGIO IS A RACE WINNER! and Redbull Comes Calling. 

Sergio would win his first ever race at the Sakhir GP, doing so in style coming from last place after a first lap incident. He crossed the line ahead of Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll in third, it was the first Formula 1 victory for a Mexican driver since Pedro Rodriguez won the 1970 Belgian GP and was Formula 1’s 110th race winner. 

Sergio Perez would receive substantial support from the F1 community since it was revealed that he could be out of a drive for the 2021 season, several commentators and journalists stating that it would be a crime for someone with Sergio’s experience and talent to be without a drive. 

Speculation around Sergio’s future would continue for the remainder of the season, even after Perez’s victory at the Sakhir GP, however Redbull would announce Sergio’s signing after the season had ended, relegating Alex Albon to a reserve driver role.

 SOLID START AT REDBULL

The 2021 season for Sergio had several firsts, including a front row start and three consecutive podium finishes. He would also secure his second race win at the Azerbaijan GP. He would also play the team game, showing some incredible defensive driving during the season ending and title deciding race at Abu Dhabi. Sergio’s driving helped his team mate pull back a 7 second gap to Lewis Hamilton which helped Max Verstappen to his first Drivers Championship. 

As with 2021, the 2022 season was another season of firsts with Sergio securing his first ever pole at the Saudi Arabian GP, becoming the first Mexican to secure pole in Formula 1. 

He would surpass Rodriguez as the most winningest Mexican driver in Formula1 when he won the prestigious Monaco GP. Shortly after this win Red Bull announced that Perez will stay at the team for the 2023 season. 

Sergio “Checo” Perez is one of the most respected drivers on the Formula 1 grid, he has a knack of being kind on his tires, often referred to as the tire whisperer. He is a dependable wingman for Max Verstappen, although he will be hoping for a more sustained challenge at the Formula1 Championship and hoping to give both Red Bull and Verstappen a headache in 2023.  

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